EPISODES Season 2 Premiere - Sneak Peek → On Demand Weekly

EPISODES Season 2 Premiere - Sneak PeekJune 22, 2012

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On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies and shows on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: "Episodes" (Showtime).

EPISODES Season 2 Premiere
Who Needs Friends?

By Jean Tait

I had given up. Perfection in television was not going to see a second season, and then came the word: Season 2 of "Episodes"!!! Sorry, didn’t mean to shout, but it’s been more than a year, so I’m rather excited! The season resumes July 1, but you can view a sneak peek now!

And now it’s as if they never went away. Picking up soon after we left off: Sean and Beverly Lincoln (Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig) are living separately after Beverly’s ill advised dalliance with Matt LeBlanc (Golden Globe Award Winner Matt LeBlanc). Matt misses the bromance he had with Sean and he even misses the constant snarking of Beverly. He is 100% comfortable in his knowledge that he can win over anyone no matter what. He knows he’s done wrong, but he also knows that eventually (and with a few exorbitantly extravagant gifts), he’ll be able to charm his way out of it.

And charming he is. I have to admit, while I enjoyed his character of Joey on “Friends,” I never realized how tremendously talented Matt LeBlanc is. It’s a bit of a cliché, but comedy is hard, and playing dumb is not as easy as it looks. Like Ryan Kwanten’s Jason Stackhouse on “True Blood,” it takes an extremely smart actor to play vacuous, yet confident so well. His Golden Globe was richly deserved.

Sean and Beverly have a tough time of it resisting Matt’s charm, especially when he sweetens the deal with expensive cars. The Californization of the Lincolns is definitely in process. Sunshine, cars, and an industry-driven culture are seeping into the intellectual Brits lives. Beverly finds herself enjoying the tan she gets driving her new convertible and her friendship with pot-smoking Carol (the delightful Kathleen Rose Perkins), now that both of their relationships are in trouble.

Sean is also enjoying the perks of a Hollywood lifestyle, with the lovely Morning Randolph (Mircea Monroe) cuddling up for a birthday surprise. Now that Beverly and Sean are established as LA insiders, they even have an out-of-work actress as an assistant, although she’s not terribly efficient, which doesn’t help as they navigate working together while living apart.

Everyone, even Sean, hangs on every bump up or down in the ratings. If their show Pucks! is doing well, no one cares what the critics think, especially not studio head, Merc Lapidus (the hilariously self-important John Pankow acting like a straight Nathan Lane character), who is finally getting some comeuppance for his philandering ways. He is proof that nothing, not even the death of a family member, is more important than the biz.

- Jean Tait

Jean
Jean Tait is a contributing writer to On Demand Weekly. Currently the Director of Programming for the Connecticut Film Festival, Jean has programmed for the Jacksonville Film Festival and Sundance Channel.